“One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain no” — Bob Marley
Abdul Mateen was originally from Harlem, New York. He was born at Woman’s Hospital and lived on 115th Street. He attended school in Queens where there was a great music program and learned to play the saxophone, cello, and violin.
One day he brought the saxophone home and while outside with his friends, his father began to play his saxophone, sounding like a pro. Mateen had never heard his father play before and was amazed.
His father’s musical associations influenced young Mateen’s development. His father introduced him to a friend who played the guitar. Mateen studied with him for about a year.
Later, another of his father’s friends, Jerry Smith, taught Mateen to play the drums. Jerry opened a number of doors for Abdul to workshops from the Jazz Mobile (similar to Book Mobile) that visited neighborhoods and brought music to children.
Mateen and his friends rode their school bus past James Brown’s house. They also discovered that John Coltrane lived near another musician friend, while around the corner was the home of Count Basie. They lived and learned music in the center of the jazz universe.
In the 1983, Abdul formed Maasai, his reggae band which was named after the famous Tanzanian tribe of warriors. He produced his first album, “Turn I Up”, in 1987 in Jamaica and albums Psalm of David in 1995 and Choose Life in 2007.
Mateen remembers when his mother listened to the song “I Know Paradise” from his first album. She had a headset on and when the song began, her eyes lit up, wide open, and she began dancing with a joy that he had not seen in years. He recently did a music video, some 38 years later, of the same song hoping to rekindle her joy.
He came to the Keys with his band, met local musician Duane Scott, and started playing in venues in the Lower Keys. For a number of years, Mateen continued to work in Rhode Island and return to the Keys. In 2003, he and the band finished an album called Babylon X No More. The album was nominated for two Grammy awards in 2003: Best Reggae and Best Album Cover Design. Mateen now lives on Big Pine Key.
When describing the impact of music on a community, Mateen talked about the perceived decline of the New York music scene because of social and economic changes in the city. The opposite is true in Key West. This is one of the factors that makes the Key West music scene so special. The community respects music and musicians, and the social and economic changes over the decades have been favorable to the music scene at almost all levels.
Mateen feels that the great Bob Marley was not just a musician playing guitar. He had a community around him in Trenchtown, Jamaica, that helped him build and create his music. Clement Dodd and Berry Gordy’s Studio One was Jamaica’s Motown, building through the Wailers, Third World, Burning Spear, and other reggae stars. Abdul and his band Maasai played a February 6th birthday tribute to Bob Marley at the Green Parrot for several years.
The world-renowned song “No Woman No Cry” was written by Vincent Ford, a friend of Marley’s who ran a free kitchen in Trenchtown. Recently, at a gig at Mangrove Mama’s, Abdul played many of the hits of Robert Nesta Marley including the song written by Vincent Ford, who Marley made sure received all the Royalties from his song. Ford used those royalties to keep his free kitchen open in Trenchtown.
To Abdul, music is culture with the perspective of life. He loves the spontaneity or freshness of jazz. From his perspective, music is a special way of understanding each other. Many of his original songs are based on real life. To Abdul, musicians and song were the very first story tellers.
One of his most fun gigs was at the Sunset Pier last year with Lee Venture on drums, Curtis Salaman on bass, Abdul on guitar and vocals along with his wife Shiva on guitar and vocals. The music and vibe was just plain fun.
Abdul performs at Mangrove Mama’s on Sundays, often at the Sunset Pier, and Dockside in Marathon, along with other venues.
Friday through Sunday, July 10-12, the Tennessee Williams Theatre will present the Key West International Dance Company, with a poignant story of struggle, hardship, and resilience through dance and song and Abdul Mateen and company will provide the music. The event is free and open to the public.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.keysnews.com ’
